Greater New Orleans

LSU forward Johnny O'Bryant has found plenty of attention inside whenever he has gotten the ball this season, and Saturday's game at Mississippi State was no exception.
(Photo by Rogelio V. Solis | Associated Press)

As
one shot after another clanged off the rim Saturday at Humphrey Coliseum,
nobody was more emblematic of LSU's shooting woes than Johnny O'Bryant. As the
Tigers missed 18 of their first 23 floor shots, O'Bryant misfired on his first
four shots and his scoring total sat at 0 for most of the opening period.

For
an LSU team (12-7, 3-5 SEC) that has learned to rely so heavily on the 6-foot-9
forward, that was a recipe for disaster.

Instead
of disaster, though, the Tigers and O'Bryant turned things around in time for a
must-win against Mississippi State instead of a troublesome loss.

O'Bryant
scored 8 second-half points and snagged 8 second-half rebounds on his way to a
fifth consecutive double-double - 12 points and 12 rebounds - in a 69-68
victory.

On
his way to another solid day, O'Bryant took only three field-goal attempts after
halftime and one of those was a second shot off a rebound.

"I
just didn't want to force anything and take any bad shots," said O'Bryant, who
has launched just 18 shots in the last two games combined. "We were in a
position where every possession counted and we needed to get the best shot we
could."

Most
of the time, that's rarely an O'Bryant attempt because he has two or more
defenders surrounding him, swatting at him, bodying him up, and just generally
pestering the heck out of him.

That
has as much to do with O'Bryant's high turnover numbers (team-high 54), but he
has adjusted and is more comfortable and effective passing out of double-teams
now.

"If
they double me, I know I can kick it out every time to one of our guards, and I
trust them to make every shot," O'Bryant said.

Those
guards - Anthony Hickey, Andre Stringer and Charles Carmouche - have been
up-and-down as long-range shooters, combining to knock down 32.3% from outside
the arc in conferences games, although Stringer is shooting as well as he ever
has at 41.4% (41 of 99) from 3-point range this season.

But
the guards aren't O'Bryant's only outlet.

When
Shavon Coleman is on the floor, and he started Saturday in Starkville, he gives
the Tigers an athletic presence in the paint.

"It's
my man who usually double-teams on Johnny, so I have to be ready to make a play,"
said Coleman, whose numbers have dipped in SEC play, but he is still averaging
11.9 points and 7.2 rebounds a game.

When
O'Bryant came out with a rebounding vengeance in the second half, it helped
that the 6-foot-7 Coleman was often drawing the attention of an offensive
player. He scored 9 points and snared 4 boards in the final 20 minutes to
supply a nice complement to his bigger companion.

"I
was trying hard to block out my man so he could go one-on-one as much as
possible," Coleman said. "He did a very good job on the boards and that's big
for us."

How
big?

Ever
since O'Bryant slipped into his groove five games ago, the Tigers have won
three games and had a chance to beat Kentucky in Rupp Arena.

In
his five-game run - the longest by an LSU player since Glen Davis recorded
eight straight double-doubles from Feb. 6-28, 2006 - O'Bryant is averaging 15.4
points and 11.7 boards a game.

"We
need Johnny to play like that," Hickey said. "He can get a double-double every
time he steps on the floor. I've got a lot of faith in him and he's the kind of
player who can carry us."

Discounted tickets for
Wednesday's game

Fans attending Wednesday's national signing day festivities at the
Baton Rouge River Center can purchase tickets for Wednesday's game with
Vanderbilt for $5.

LSU ticket personnel will be on hand at the River Center at the
recruiting event. Bash ticket stubs can also be redeemed for $5 basketball
tickets at the Pete Maravich Center ticket office beginning at 6 p.m. Wednesday
night.

LSU legend Bob Pettit
will be guest speaker at Jones' luncheon

The first LSU basketball legend will make a rare public
speaking appearance on Tuesday at the monthly "Tipoff Luncheon with LSU
Coach Johnny Jones."

Basketball
Hall of Famer Bob Pettit will be the guest at the L'Auberge Resort. The buffet
is available at 11:30 a.m., and the program begins at 12:10 p.m.

Bob PettitSusan Poag | NOLA.com

Pettit
played on the first team at LSU to advance to what is now the Final Four in
1953. Pettit and the other living members of the team will gather on Feb. 16
for a reunion day as part of the LSU-Mississippi State game at the Pete
Maravich Assembly Center.

Following
his All-American career at LSU, Pettit played on NBA championship teams with
the St. Louis Hawks and won multiple All-Star game MVP honors. He is one of the
three former Tigers named to the NBA 50 at 50 team.

His number is one of just
five basketball players who have jerseys hanging from the rafters of the PMAC,
along with the building's namesake, Shaquille O'Neal, Rudy Macklin and Seimone
Augustus.